Joe Exotic is selling artworks and other collectible items from jail.
The Tiger King star, who first appeared on the Netflix documentary last year, has struck a deal with a US cryptocurrency club. They will host a sale of items such as Joe’s favourite pistol and holster, which has a starting bid of £72,000, while he remains behind bars in Fort Worth, Texas.
Other mementoes up for auction are Exotic’s trademark fringed jacket, another black leather jacket and matching trousers, audio recordings that he has made from jail, and a bikini once worn by his best friend, adult actress Rachel Starr, as seen on the streamed documentary.
As well as the physical, real-life items, some of Joe’s haul will be sold as non-fungible tokens or digital-only, meaning that the successful bidders own the rights to a virtual image or item. These include trading cards and artwork.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage said:
“Being able to auction off collectibles makes me feel connected with the outside world, especially without my cats by my side.”
And, proving that his aim is to cash in on his lockdown fame, continued:
“Whether you love me or hate me for what you think I've done, there's no doubt that everyone wants a piece of The Tiger King!”
Exotic was convicted of on 17 charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted ‘murder for hire’. He was part of a plot to kill his rival, Carole Baskin, who is the CEO of Big Cat Rescue.
The 58-year-old has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and expects to be locked up until at least 2014, when he will be 80 years old.
Last year, the former zookeeper tried to seek an appeal against his sentence from Donald Trump, but his attempt failed when the former President failed to respond. In the Spring of this year, Exotic claimed he is the victim of “conspiracy.”
